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Office of Sponsored Programs

NIH Public Access Policy

NIH’s Public Access Policy was updated in 2024. Under federal law, NIH requires that an Author Accepted Manuscript of Applicable Work, once accepted for publication, MUST be submitted to the PubMed Central (PMC) repository where it will be made available to the public immediately.

UM authors must submit an Author Accepted Manuscript of Applicable Work, and accompanying files, to the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS).

Compliance with the NIH policy

Compliance involves three main areas: (1) Address copyright, (2) Submission of your manuscript to NIH, and (3) Citing PMCID reference numbers in subsequent grant reports and proposals.

Address Copyright

You own the original copyrights to materials you write. When a journal agrees to publish your manuscript, publishers ask you to transfer your copyrights to the publisher. Some publishers may ask you to transfer your copyrights when it is first submitted to a journal for review.

UM authors should work with the publisher before any rights are transferred to ensure that all conditions of the NIH Public Access Policy can be met. Authors should avoid signing any agreements with publishers that do not allow the author to comply with the NIH Public Access Policy. 

Some publishers already address this NIH policy by filing the Final Published Article on your behalf.  To learn more about these journals and additional requirements, visit the NIH website.

If you are not publishing in one of the journals on this list, you must ensure that agreements with your publisher permit the submission of your manuscript to NIH and prevent the publisher from embargoing your Applicable Work from immediate public access.  Resources available from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs include:

  • A letter that you should submit with your manuscript alerting the publisher to the fact that the manuscript is subject to the NIH policy and UM expects them to comply with the policy.
  • Suggested wording that you can add to a publisher’s agreement to ensure that you can fulfill the NIH policy.
  • You can also review your contract language with UM's Associate Legal Counsel.

Submission of your manuscript to NIH

For Applicable Work, UM authors must submit an Author Accepted Manuscript, and accompanying files, to the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS).

  • The NIMHS system is very easy to use.
  • See the policy’s FAQ to learn who may or must ensure submission requirements are met.
  • Some publishers will submit manuscripts for authors. See the NIH website for a list.
  • Some publishers are charging fees to do this for you. In those instances, you can avoid paying the fee by submitting the manuscript to PubMed Central yourself.  The NIH submission process is simple and easy.  Paying the publisher is NOT necessary.

Citing PubMed Central Reference Numbers

When your manuscript is submitted to NIH, you will receive a NIHMSID number, and once it is available in PubMed Central, it will be assigned a PMCID number.

You will need to cite the PMC ID numbers for any articles you cite in your progress reports, new applications, and renewals. Alternatively, you may use NIHMSID numbers for up to three months after the official publication date. 

For full PMCID and NIHSMID requirements, visit the policy’s FAQ.

Resources

  • Applicable Work means most projects partially or fully funded by NIH. See the full policy to learn more about which work these rules apply to.

    Author Accepted Manuscript, as defined by the policy, means “[t]he author’s final version that has been accepted for journal publication and includes all revisions resulting from the peer review process, including all associated tables, graphics, and supplemental material.”

    Final Published Article, as defined by the policy, means “[t]he journal's authoritative copy, including journal or publisher copyediting and stylistic edits, and formatting changes, even prior to the compilation of a volume or issue or the assignment of associated metadata.”